The incidence of human pancreatic carcinogenesis in the United States is rising. Recent epidemiologic data indicates this disease may be of environmental etiology. The relationship of diet and nutrition to the etiology of several chemically induced cancers in experimental animal studies has been investigated. No studies for such a relationship to pancreatic cancer have been reported. Using the recently developed azaserine model for pancreatic carcinogenesis in the rat, we propose to investigate the effects of several dietary regimens on perturbing this well defined rat model. The dietary stresses in these initial screening studies are low protein diet (9%), high protein diet (50%), low fat (5%), and high fat (30%) diets of both saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, and lipotrope-deficient diets. Animals in these studies will be injected with a carcinogenic regimen of azaserine and killed at one year for histopathologic evaluation. The effects of the above diets on the initiation events will be investigated by dosing young rats consuming these diets and subsequently feeding them a well balanced control diet. The effects of diet on tumor promotion will be studied by dosing well nourished, young rats with azaserine and subsequently feeding them the stressful diets. These rats, also, will be killed at one year for histopathologic evaluation. On the basis of the results of these screens for the relationship of diet to the etiology of chemical-induced pancreatic cancer, we will embark on more definitive dietary studies and selected biochemical studies of the underlying mechanisms in the second year.